


The 'Fluency' Affair

by Avirra



Series: Man from U.N.C.L.E - Sound & Dialogue [17]
Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 05:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1970721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avirra/pseuds/Avirra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a mission, Illya and Napoleon get briefly side-tracked as they talk about talking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The 'Fluency' Affair

"Actually, I did not hear much of what was being said due to the background noises, but I am relatively sure that he was speaking Portuguese."

"Tell me, chum, do you go out of your way to learn new languages?"

"I do not consider it going out of my way. I consider it broadening my horizons."

"I know a few myself, but nowhere near your volume. Doesn't any of it ever get mixed up in your head?"

"No. Why would it?'

"No particular reason it should, I guess. Guess it just seems like a lot to keep in your noggin without it getting jumbled."

"Noggin?"

"Your head."

"How many different names do you Americans need for a single item?"

"Some people collect stamps, we collect words. But we're veering off topic."

"We have a topic? I thought we were merely talking."

"Well, yes - we're have a chat, but we're having a chat about languages."

"Ah. I suppose we are. Well, you do not have trouble telling English from Italian, do you? And how many languages do you speak altogether, my friend?"

"Two fluently, two decently and a smattering of about five others."

"If you count French among the decently spoken, you must not consider that accent counts. But tell me, do you mix them up yourself?"

"Admittedly? On occasion I do find myself hunting for a word and coming up with the wrong one. Especially with the languages in the smattering category."

"Perhaps having a musical ear helps. I do not think that I would be any more likely to mistake Chinese for Japanese than I would to mistake the sound of a trumpet for a trombone."

"You're comparing different languages to different instruments?"

"Why not? Language is words arranged in patterns, music is notes arranged in patterns. It may actually help for you to think in those terms, Napoleon. You have a better ear for music than most yourself. And most languages have a certain musicality to them if spoken as the natives do."

"Hm. You may have a valid point there, tovarich."

"Of course I do. If the point was not valid, I would not have made it."

"So modest."

"One of my finer qualities."

"You've been hanging around me for too long."

"I know."


End file.
